Mongu Bishop responds to Sata's rhetoric

President Michael Sata should not use threats to frustrate and intimidate Zambians who vote for the opposition because this is their constitutional right.

Mongu Dioecess Bishop Evans Chinyemba  says President Sata’s use of threats on his people will not help him to resolve the many challenges the country is facing.

Bishop Chinyemba said that threats that Southern Province will only see development if they vote for PF Members of Parliament were misplaced and highly misleading.

Bishop Chinyemba said that President Sata should realize that parliament approved a national budget in which each constituency had a share of the national cake.

And Chief Chikanta of the Tonga people of Kalomo has said that the statement by President Sata has created discontent among the people of Southern Province who now feel that they can only benefit development if they belong to the ruling PF.

Bishop Chinyemba said that it was not surprising that President Sata was the one today advocating for late Stone Age kind of politics which were full of blackmail and deception.

He said that it was wrong for President Sata to go to Southern Province and start intimidating the traditional leaders by suggesting that they would not see development until they gave him MPs.

“Who told him (Mr. Sata) that he can only develop an area if he has MPs in that particular region? Has he forgotten that when he was in the opposition he disagreed with the MMD over the same concept he was promoting today. Mr. Sata should not use blackmail tactics to deliver his wrong messages because Zambia is a democracy and the people will always exercise their right to elect leaders of their choice,” he said.

Bishop Chinyemba said that it was an insult to the people of Zambia for anyone to suggest that development could only be delivered if you belonged to the ruling class, adding that Zambia did not belong to the PF alone.

He said that President Sata should realize that the PF was quickly losing grip on the Zambian political scene because of its record of poor governance and therefore, the people of Zambia would punish him and the PF if they adopt a one party state structure of governance.

“It is a challenge I am throwing to the PF leadership to come out in the open and state why PF MPs and Ministers now are failing to develop their constituencies? An example of that is the Luanshya Constituency for Dr. Katema.

He has failed to deliver in his constituency. Is he in the opposition or the ruling party and a minister for that matter?” wondered Bishop Chinyemba.

And Chief Chikanta told the Daily Nation that the statement by President Sata was unfortunate and had created discontent in the people of Kalomo and Southern Province.

“Our people feel sad about the development because some of them came and complained saying that so we shall not see development because we belong to the opposition. However, I know that is not what the President meant. We have seen government advertising for the construction of roads. In kalomo alone tenders for two roads have already been advertised,” he said.